Give and Take
by Lindir
Summary: Inu Yasha muses as he and Kagome go to meet Sakasagami no Yura


  
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Inu Yasha and all its characters belong to their respective owners.

Give and Take  
by Katanashi (Inazuma@cephiro.com)

An Inu Yasha Fanfiction

Inu Yasha's thoughts as he and Kagome go meet Yura of the hair.  
Note: Based on the anime, not the manga.  
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Inu Yasha never bothered to hide the grimaces that so often graced his face, and this time was no exception. In fact, the scowl was particularly displeased as he skipped across with stones with an ease that would have made any human attempt look hopelessly clumsy, without expending enough effort to squash a flea. A slight huff escaped him as he bounded up the hill, Kagome still clinging to his back. He half-snorted, more disappointed that she hadn't fallen off than anything else. Feeling a slight shortage of breath, he bitterly remembered that even with his naturally exceptional skills, he was still no match for any full-blooded demon-- especially Sesshoumaru. 

Sesshoumaru was an impossible enigma to Inu Yasha, even if he hadn't been half as stubborn and twice as intelligent, which would have easily made him the Jeopardy champion ten times over without batting an eyelash. With a face of stone-- an attractive face, for that matter-- and a nearly limitless capacity for strength and power, it continually irked at Inu Yasha as to why Sesshoumaru was so cold to him when it was obvious who was more powerful. Not that Inu Yasha wanted his brother's affections anyway, but sometimes…

Another bitter snort escaped his lips. His remarkable sensitivity enabled him to detect the girl on his back tensing slightly. The moodiness he displayed to the world was in no way a hidden aspect of his personality. But he would have to be more careful later on. A punk, an outlaw, and a destructive dissident were all common terms on his resume; a depressed, cynical individual who let little things like a lack of companionship get to him was a reputation he loathed to ever conform to. 

He had put his past behind him long ago. Kikyo had been the first to teach him that, the first person since his mother to genuinely care for him. It was a surprise to him. He had been a troublemaker for the village, a constant harassment and terrorist, and certainly an annoyance if not a threat to Kikyo herself. But Kikyo was different. Even though the village opinions had kept her feelings in check, she had never looked at him with burning animosity, nor condescending pity. Instead, he had seen in her eyes a sympathetic acceptance, something he had never seen before, ningen or youkai. As time passed, and he began to understand her more, he saw something else flickering in those unseen depths, something that he hadn't understood at the time, but had realized too late. Love. And it was the fact that Kikyo was gone that hurt him all the more. Hurt that he could never afford to show. Kaede had spoken so casually of Kikyo's death. To Kagome and Kaede, he had brushed it off with another coarse remark, that he was glad that the hag was dead. But inside, he had begun to fall apart. Kikyo had filled the gap left by his ningen side. Now that she was gone, he no longer wanted to become a full youkai. He _needed_ to become one. 

Sesshoumaru had no need for love. What love he needed, he probably administered to himself, and if not, there were thousands of youkai out there who'd gladly drop everything to follow him around like hyenas to a kill. For Sesshoumaru, it wasn't hard, with his looks and the power he commanded. But not so with Inu Yasha. He was filthy most of the time. He lived a nomad's life. And even though he hated to admit it, he desperately wanted a companion. It was hard to talk to the trees and expect to be satisfied. Myoga might have qualified, but frankly, Inu Yasha was less than interested. Myoga was still quite a parasite, and he skipped out the moment danger was scented, even if it wasn't real. No youkai in his or her right mind would embark on any wayward journey with him, only a half-youkai, even if his father had been a Taiyoukai. 

That was why he had gone back to get the girl. Not only because she was the only one who could see the hair and the shards, but because he had seen the same thing in her eyes that he had first seen in Kikyo's; acceptance. She didn't seem to mind him at all, and although she had seemed like a total wimp at first, he'd begun to reverse his opinion of her. Almost. Her stupidity and carelessness with the Shikon shards more than outweighed any positive deeds she'd done. At least, that was how it was in his book. 

A orangish glow glinted in the distance. He narrowed his eyes, sharpening his night-adapted vision. "There's a campfire!" he said tersely. A knot tightened itself around his stomach as they approached. He smelled death in the camp, and an excess of spilt blood. His suspicions were soon justified, much to his grim satisfaction. 

"They all lost their heads!" Kagome exclaimed, trying to keep her slightly quavering voice soft. 

Indeed, headless bodies of dead samurai lay strewn everywhere, one strung up by seemingly nothing, and weapons laying untouched where they had been dropped when the samurai had first encamped. Some had arrows lodged into them. Others had died without realizing danger had lurked nearby. 

He hadn't met death for a long time. Kikyo's spell had not killed him; rather, it had put him in a deep sleep. He knew all too well she would have never killed him ,but he still couldn't understand her motivations for shooting him in the first place. He dismissed the thoughts as he gazed in the shadowy light at the armor clad corpses, with pools of blood signifying the brutality of which their heads had been removed. He closed his eyes, feeling a slight bit of nausea, before standing and letting Kagome off his back. After regaining his control, he walked off the side and took a more measured look at the surroundings. Not many signs of struggle. Many of the samurai had been killed before having a chance to react. Those who had reacted had received a quick death. 

His amber eyes narrowed slightly. "These runaway samurai must have been caught up in this hair trap," he mused, more to himself than Kagome. "They had no luck." He turned back to Kagome, half expecting her to be throwing up the remains of her lunch on the ground. "What are you doing, crouched down like that?" he demanded, seeing her huddled on the ground. He really didn't want to have to reassure her; his way of reassuring was less reassuring than frightening, and he knew it. He added in a derisive tone, "Don't tell me you don't want to go on because your back hurts or something." 

_Bad move, Inu Yasha_, part of his mind hissed. _Would you have said that to Kikyo? _ No. Of course he wouldn't have. But Kikyo, again, was different. She had been an expert markswoman with her bow, and a more than competant fighter. Her spellcasting abilities surpassed any human that he had ever known. Kagome, on the other hand was, well…useless, to say the least. She couldn't shoot, she couldn't fight, she could hardly run. All he saw in her was the ability to see the Shikon shards and Yura's hair. Then why had be lent her his fire-rat coat? If he didn't care what happened to her the least, then he should have kept it for himself. Accelerated healing or not, it still wasn't pleasant to get sliced into pieces. 

He sighed loudly. _Fine, fine. I don't want to see her get hurt_. Yet another concession to that stupid mind in the back of his head. 

He grumbled at himself, but finally also conceded he would be just a tad nicer. After all, Ofukuro had always taught him to be kind to everyone. It was too bad that the way his life was, if he was kind, he'd be dead within a day. His suitabley fearsome reputation was enough to give him some space for a more or less solitary life. 

To his relief, Kagome was not crying. He really didn't know what to do when a girl started to cry. His relief soon turned to a mixture of disgust and disbelief, however, when he saw what she was holding. 

"I'm just going to borrow these," she said with a strange light in her eye. She shifted her grip on the bow and quiver of arrows she held, determination written all over her coutenance. 

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, trying to read her expression. He could tell what she was thinking. If they didn't stop Yura soon, more lives would be lost, and the samurai they had just found would be only a few of the people that would die in a senseless collection of hair. Yura was cruel. She wouldn't care about about anyone. For some reason, that was what bothered Inu Yasha the most about her. And he could see that was what bothered Kagome as well. 

As she climbed back onto his back and they started back towards Yura, he couldn't help but needle her. "What's the use? You can't hit anything with the bow," he pointed out, trying unsuccessfully to curb his biting tone. 

"Don't be so mean!" she protested, trying to keep from falling off as he clambered his way rapidly up a rocky hill. "If I practice…"

He snorted. "Practice?" He remembered her past attempts and barely withheld another sarcastic coment about the minimal amount of "practice" she'd need before she became even remotely good with a bow and arrow. "Did you practice?" he said with a roll of his eyes. He already knew the answer to that one. How he was ever going to survive with her on this journey, he didn't know. He didn't even want to think about it. 

_You're starting to get mean again_, he heard that little part of his mind say chidingly. _Ofukuro would be disappointed in you. She's trying, you know_. Yes, she was trying. But, he added scathingly, trying wasn't enough. And yet he knew he was being unfair to Kagome. Everyone had to begin somewhere, and at least she wasn't trying to avoid or delay it. 

"I'm starting now!" she declared. "I'll show you how good I can be!" Her fingers tightened their grip on his shirt, digging into the skin underneath. 

His expression sharpened thoughtfully as he glanced at her overly tight grip. _This girl…she may be useless, but she sure has a lot of backbone_, he thought, a grudging respect giving way at last. Perhaps she would learn to use the bow and arrow efficiently. Perhaps she would find all the Shikon shards and fuse them into the Shikon no Tama once again. 

Perhaps…perhaps she was Kikyo's reincarnation. 

Everything has to begin somewhere, he thought, with less aversion. Perhaps, in Kagome, he had at last found a companion who accepted, even liked him as he was. And in his heart, something stirred. 

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Author's Notes: I love Inu Yasha and Kagome together; when I first started to read Inu Yasha, I noticed some similarity between them and Ranma & Akane. Knowing full well how drawn-out the Ranma & Akane romance was, I was a bit wary of reading on until my friend reassured me, "Inu Yasha and Kagome are a LOT better." Thank goodness they are! And this is how such stories are born in my mind; romances that are realistic but not crazy, although I do understand crazy is synonymous with Ranma. 

Comments and feedback are always appreciated.   
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